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A comparative analysis of environmental impacts of operational phases of three selected microalgal cultivation systems.
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SYSNO ASEP 0564847 Document Type J - Journal Article R&D Document Type Journal Article Subsidiary J Článek ve WOS Title A comparative analysis of environmental impacts of operational phases of three selected microalgal cultivation systems. Author(s) Wimmerová, L. (CZ)
Keken, Z. (CZ)
Šolcová, Olga (UCHP-M) RID, ORCID, SAI
Vávrová, K. (CZ)Article number 769 Source Title Sustainability. - : MDPI
Roč. 15, č. 1 (2023)Number of pages 14 s. Language eng - English Country CH - Switzerland Keywords cascade ; photobioreactor ; flat-panel ; phototrophic ; heterotrophic OECD category Chemical process engineering R&D Projects TN01000048 GA TA ČR - Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TA ČR) Method of publishing Open access Institutional support UCHP-M - RVO:67985858 UT WOS 000909942700001 EID SCOPUS 85146009923 DOI 10.3390/su15010769 Annotation In recent years, microalgal biomass cultivation has been growing in importance, not only related to the production of alternative foods and nutritional supplements but also for its usage for energy purposes or as a natural solution for wastewater treatment. Regarding these cases, the practical potential associated with the circular economy is evident. However, this is not an option for microalgal food and supplements due to strict hygiene requirements for microalgae cultivation used for these purposes. Currently, the most common cultivation options for microalgae include phototrophic cascades, photobioreactors, and heterotrophic fermenters. Generally, the higher requirements for the purity of the resulting biomass, the higher the consumption of energy and nutrients needed. These are the main operational parameters that significantly shape the total environmental and economic performance of microalgae cultivation processes. The comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of environmental aspects in the operational phases of three selected cultivation systems, located in the Czech Republic and used for pure microalgae biomass production, confirmed that the impacts of these systems in the assessed categories are fundamentally dependent on the amount of electricity needed and nutrient consumption, as well as their sources. For this reason, the heterotrophic fermenter was evaluated as being the most damaging in the comparison of the three cultivation systems, while the phototrophic cascade showed a lower total environmental impact by 15% and the flat photobioreactor was lower still, by 95%, mainly due to energy production from biomass. The major impact categories observed were climate change, depletion of fossil fuels, human toxicity, and freshwater and marine ecotoxicity. The environmental impacts of microalgae cultivation systems could be further reduced if cycling practices, such as process water recycling and reprocessing of generated sewage sludge, were addressed. Workplace Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals Contact Eva Jirsová, jirsova@icpf.cas.cz, Tel.: 220 390 227 Year of Publishing 2024 Electronic address https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/1/769
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